Online Panel
26/2 (Fri) 20:00 | Zoom
Conducted in English
Co-production: Emerging Filmmakers in Action -
with producers and directors from Southeast Asia and Hong Kong
In Hong Kong, independent films are mostly either self-funded or dependent on fundings by the Arts Development Council. Yet with the rise of production and everyday costs, the Council grant is often only enough to kickstart a project. To support the entire production, young filmmakers begin to turn to overseas platforms, such as crowdfunding and film financing forums. In Asia, we see bold, independent filmmakers pushing the envelope of filmmaking despite having limited resources. International co-production is key in helping these filmmakers secure additional finances and technology, and bit by bit, a relatively mature co-production system has started to fall into place.
The panel will look into a selection of acclaimed co-produced films that have emerged from Southeast Asia and Hong Kong: Singing in Graveyards, A Land Imagined and Blue Island, the films’ producers and directors will share the creative and production process behind each film and introduce the concept and workings of co-production, also to explore the possibilities of independent co-production for Hong Kong films and cover the essentials of production.
Panelists:
Singing in Graveyards
Producer
Bianca BALBUENA
Bianca BALBUENA is a producer based in the Philippines, and co-founder and CEO of Epicmedia Production. She has produced over 27 feature films including Lav Diaz’s A Lullaby to the Sorrowful Mystery, Bradley Liew’s Singing in the Graveyards, and Pepe Diokno’s Above The Clouds is her first venture into French co-production. She is most known for producing Antoinette Jadaone’s That Thing Called Tadhana which became one of the highest grossing independent films in Philippine box office history. She is the recipient of the 2018 Asian Film Commissions (AFC) Network’s Producer of the Year and the youngest awardee of the Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) FIAPF Award for contribution to Asia Pacific cinema. She is currently a mentor in film labs such as Locarno Open Doors and the EAVE Ties That Bind Workshop.
Singing in Graveyards
Director
Bradley LIEW
Bradley LIEW is a Malaysian-born Philippines-based filmmaker who works as a director, cinematographer and producer in both countries. He is an alumnus of Asian Film Academy of Busan IFF, NAFF Fantastic Film School, Berlinale Talents and Locarno Filmmakers Academy. In 2016, he completed his directorial feature debut, a Malaysian-Philippine co-production entitled Singing in Graveyards, which world premiered in-competition in Venice Critics’ Week, and screened in numerous international film festivals. His second feature Motel Acacia (2019) was world premiered in Tokyo IFF. He produced Lav Diaz’s Season of the Devil (2018) with his producing partner Bianca Balbuena.
A Land Imagined
Producer
Fran BORGIA
Fran BORGIA was born in Spain and is based in Singapore since 2004. He is the founder of Akanga Film Asia. He has produced several critically acclaimed films such as Ho Tzu Nyenʼs Here (Cannes Directorʼs Fortnight 2009), Boo Junfengʼs Sandcastle (Cannes Criticsʼ Week 2010), Vladimir Todorovicʼs Disappearing Landscape (Rotterdam 2013), Lav Diazʼs A Lullaby to the Sorrowful Mystery (Berlinale 2016 – Silver Bear Alfred Bauer Prize), Boo Junfengʼs Apprentice (Cannes Un Certain Regard 2016) and K. Rajagopalʼs A Yellow Bird (Cannes Criticsʼ Week 2016). In 2018 he produced Yeo Siew Huaʼs A Land Imagined, a Singapore-French-Dutch co-production that won the Pardo dʼoro (Golden Leopard) at the 71st Locarno Film Festival.
A Land Imagined
Director
YEO Siew Hua
Yeo Siew Hua’s A Land Imagined (2018), won the prestigious Golden Leopard grand prize at the Locarno Film Festival and is Singapore’s entry to the Academy Awards (Oscars) 2020. The film also won top awards for Best Original Screenplay and Best Original Music Score at the Golden Horse Awards in 2019 and is internationally distributed on Netflix. Yeo Siew Hua was conferred the Lesley Ho Asian Film Talent Award by the Singapore International Film Festival for his achievements towards the growth of Asian cinema. He is a founding member of the 13 Little Pictures film collective in Singapore.
Blue Island
Producer
Catherine CHAN
Catherine CHAN is an Independent producer and audience designer for film projects by emerging filmmakers. Born and raised in Hong Kong, she has over 10 years of experience in public relations and administration in Hong Kong and China. She started her film career as a project manager assisting Oscar winner Ruby YANG to establish Hong Kong Documentary Initiative in 2015. She is now producing feature-length and short documentaries about Hong Kong, Japan and Malaysia; and building an idea of audience design platform with a focus on sustainability issues. She is selected for 2019 Torino Film Lab – Audience Design and 2020 EURODOC.
Blue Island
Director
CHAN Tze Woon
CHAN Tze Woon is a Hong Kong filmmaker. Graduated from Academy of Film at Hong Kong Baptist University in 2013. A large-scale occupation in 2014 prompted his first feature-length documentary Yellowing (2016). The film won the Shinsuke Ogawa Award at Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival, also nominated for the Best Documentary at Taipei Golden Horse Film Awards and selected for IFF Rotterdam. He is now working on his new project Blue Island (work-in-progress), exploring new possibilities in film financing, production format, cinema language and distribution.